Two Swiss cities among the most bike-friendly in the world
Thomas Stoiber / Shutterstock.com
By Clara Bousfield
The Copenhagenize Index has revealed that the Swiss cities of Bern and Zurich are among the world's most bike-friendly. Utrecht in the Netherlands took first place in the ranking.
Utrecht the most bike-friendly city in the world
The Copenhagenize Index is “the most comprehensive and holistic ranking of bicycle-friendly cities in the world”. This year’s edition used 13 indicators to compare 100 cities across 44 countries globally.
The indicators used were:
- Safe & Connected Infrastructure: Bicycle infrastructure, bike parking, number of traffic calming areas and annual cyclist fatality rates.
- Usage and Reach: Bicycle modal share and growth (number of cycling trips), number of cycling trips made by women, bike sharing schemes and cargo bike usage.
- Policy and Support: Amount of government budget dedicated to cycling initiatives, strength of cycling advocacy groups, how bikes are perceived (e.g. by the media) and urban planning.
This year's index revealed that “climate or geography does not determine whether a city can become cycling-friendly” and that “cycling thrives when investment and governance are strong”.
Utrecht, Copenhagen and Ghent were named as the top three most bike-friendly cities in the world. Wrocław, Québec and Vancouver came in at 28th, 29th and 30th, respectively.
Bern and Zurich among the most bike-friendly cities in the world
Two cities in Switzerland were recognised for their cycle-friendly attributes. Bern came in at 20th place, making its debut in the Copenhagenize Index, and Zurich ranked 22nd.
The index credited Bern’s Velo-Offensive initiative, which has “given cycling strong momentum by pushing higher-quality infrastructure and testing pilot projects, and even challenging national regulations that limit progress.” For example, the city has built 18 kilometres of cycling lanes and 2.660 bike parking spaces at Bern train station.
Zurich ranked 22nd among the world’s most bike-friendly cities and was recognised for developing its cycling strategy. As part of this, a cycling tunnel has been built under Zurich HB and the city’s bike parking and sharing schemes were expanded.
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Clara Bousfield
Editor at IamExpat Media